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Vegan Golden Squaw Bread

It is literally a crime that I can’t find a veganized version of Squaw Bread anywhere on the internet. And none of the non-vegan ones seem to agree about ingredients. Rye flour? Raisins? Honey? Sheesh! But sometimes desperation yields amazing results. Because I now have in my possession an amazing recipe for Golden Squaw Bread that will knock your socks off.

What I like best about this recipe is that it’s so easy. Most squaw breads want you to make a separate blended mixture of raisins and add that it–bah. What I like second best it that it’s super low in fat–most of the recipes I found called for an egg and 1/2 a cup of butter or oil. UGH! Applesauce takes care of the fat and the fruity element that makes squaw bread so awesome.

This is the prettiest dough ball I’ve ever made. Usually my bread dough is sorta dry, or won’t stick together properly, or is too sticky–you get the picture. Just look how cute he is, though! Sweet little dough ball.

Vegan Golden Squaw Bread (makes 1 round loaf):

1 package active yeast (or 2 and 1/4 tsp)

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup unmilk (soy, almond, etc)

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp blackstrap molasses

1/2 cup wheat bran

1 T ground flax seed

1/2 tsp salt

2 T vital wheat gluten

2 and 1/2 cups unbleached flour (I use a mix of white and wheat)

1/2 cup dark rye flour

First, you’ll want to proof your yeast. Place it in a small bowl with the warm water and a tsp of the maple syrup or brown sugar. Let it rest for 5 minutes, and it’ll be bubbly on the top to show you it’s alive. In the meantime, mix together your flax seed, unmilk, applesauce, syrup, sugar, molasses & wheat bran. Mix in the yeast and water. Add your flours, salt and wheat gluten in small batches, approx. 1/2 cup at a time. It’ll start to get hard to mix at 2 cups of flour, so I kneaded it with my hands after that.

Place your dough on a clean, floured surface and knead for at least five minutes. I had to add flour frequently to the dough so it didn’t become super sticky. When the dough feels nice and elastic, put it in a large oiled bowl, cover with a towel, and let it rise for an hour and a half.

The dough will be much bigger, but not quite doubled by the time you get back. That’s okay! Now, punch it down and form into a ball again. Place on a cookie sheet covered with greased parchment paper. Cover with a towel again and let rest for at least half an hour. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Remove the towel and bake bread in the oven for 30 minutes, lowering the heat to 325 if the top begins to brown too quickly.

Let the bread cool before cutting into it–but it is a dense bread, and it probably won’t deflate too much. You just don’t want to burn your hands!